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By Clem Guttata
Let's talk about how to talk about change.
I'm going to start with a really simple example: a leaky faucet. Now, this isn't just any faucet. It's a really fancy one your grandmother left you and you love the way it looks. Every time you use the faucet, you think warmly of your grandmother (may she rest in peace).
But, you're also getting a nagging feeling that there's going to be an expensive water bill in the future. You've heard something about how much water a single leaky faucet can use and you're worried doing nothing could get expensive.
So, you call your plumber friend who agrees to come look at it for free. After taking a thorough look the plumber says: bad news, good news.
Bad news: there's no way this old faucet is going to last much longer and there's no way to repair it--it's falling apart inside and it would be impossible to find parts to fix it.
Good news, I've got an extra faucet I can sell you at my cost, $100 at most for the faucet plus install, and it has a built in filter so it'll be healthier for you, too.
Decision making rhetoric
Let's make the leaky faucet example more general. Here's a little chart I threw together:
With the leaky faucet, the status quo is, well, a leaky faucet--that's the problem to solve--but there's some good stuff now we don't want to change, too. It's a favorite faucet with strong sentimental value. The motivation to do something is a fear of a high water bill (bad stuff now or in the future).
The proposed solution is a new faucet. Resistance to change--to adopt this solution--includes the cost of the solution, paying for a new faucet ("$100 max"), and less of the "usual" good stuff--using a faucet with sentimental value. But, the proposed solution also promises less bad stuff, the drip, drip, dripping sound will be gone and different good stuff--the health benefits of a filter.
Strengthening Resistance to Change
Let's say someone walked on this situation and wants, for whatever reason, to maintain the status quo. How can they strengthen your resistance to change?
It's pretty easy. Let's look at the table:
1. talk up the good stuff now,
2. talk up the costs of the solution and add a reminder about having less of the "usual" good stuff in the future, and
3. to throw some cold water on any motivation to change--toss in some fear and doubt about the proposed solution.
In summary, say something like this:
"You know, that faucet was your grandmother's favorite, too. You once told me how much it meant to you that you and her both like the same things. Can you afford to pay $100 for a new faucet? Once your grandmother's faucet is replaced, you'll never be able to install it again. Every day you look at the new one you'll think how you miss your grandmother. Heck, you never know when the new one might start leaking."
And, there we have it, the playbook for generating resistance to change.
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Later this weekend, I'll relate this concept to a new study from the WVU Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) called "Economic Impact of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 on the West Virginia Economy 2009-2030". Astute readers may have already guessed which decision making quadrants that study explores and which it ignores. |
